Kinnelon (4) at Pequannock (14) - Baseball

When Anthony Scillieri led off the bottom of the sixth inning with a walk, Pequannock coach Bill Arata's initial thought was to simply push one run across and break the tie.

"We were playing for a run right there in the bottom of the sixth when we bunted with Matt Blahut," Arata said. "We were just playing for a run, just to get one more on the board."

Blahut would successfully sacrifice Scillieri over to second. Arata’s goal was met when the next batter, Dan Short, hit an RBI single up the middle. Pequnnock, however, was merely just getting started.

Short’s hit was the start of a stretch which saw 12 of 13 Pequannock batters reach base as it scored 10 runs in the sixth and defeat Kinnelon, 14-4, in Pompton Plains.

"It gets the adrenaline going, puts pressure on the pitcher," Scillieri said. "They bring in a new kid (to pitch) and then we started hitting. That's what we got to do."

Tommy Zaher followed with a misplayed fly, which turned into a double. Nick LaPorta was hit by a pitch to load the bases up again. Pequannock (8-5) would make it 6-4 thanks to an error before Tommy Ackershoek broke the game open with a two-run double.

Blahut, Short and Zaher would each add an RBI before LaPorta’s two-run single ended the game by mercy rule. Nine of the 10 sixth-inning runs were unearned.

"We love to take extra bases," said Zaher, who was 2-for-3 with two walks and two runs. "If someone makes a mistake, we’re going to capitalize on it."

Such an ending seemed improbable a few innings earlier when Kinnelon (6-10) scored four runs in the third inning, the big hit coming on a two-run single by John Hamill.

Ross Halkias and Kyle Presti had two hits apiece for Kinnelon, but from that point forward, Scillieri (4-1) settled down and didn’t allow another run.

Pequannock stranded four runners in scoring position before finally breaking through in the fifth. The big hit was a two-run single by Ackershoek to tie the game, after Kinnelon had intentionally walked Vince Parrotta to pitch to Ackershoek.

"I feel like there's something to prove after that because they want to pitch to you," said Ackershoek. "I just had to make them play. You just got to put in play when you're up and do it for the team."

LaPorta and Short finished with two runs and two RBI apiece, for Pequannock, which has won four in a row. Scillieri struck out two in six innings, allowing four runs, five hits and two walks.